In a new party political broadcast uploaded to YouTube and to be aired nationally on Monday evening, Mr Clegg speaks directly to camera in a video entitled ‘No easy way to say this…’

The deputy prime minister proceeds to apologise for broken election promises, saying that there are ‘people who are disappointed and angry that we couldn’t keep all our promises – above all our promise not to raise tuition fees’.

He adds: ‘To those people, I say this: We made a promise before the election that we would vote against any rise in fees under any circumstances.

‘But that was a mistake. It was a pledge made with the best of intentions – but we shouldn’t have made a promise we weren’t absolutely sure we could deliver.’

Mr Clegg goes on to say that he regrets committing to an expensive policy during a period of economic difficulty, adding: ‘I know that we fought to get the best policy we could in those circumstances.

‘But I also realise that isn’t the point. There’s no easy way to say this: we made a pledge…we didn’t stick to it, and for that I am sorry.

‘When you’ve made a mistake you should apologise.’

Speaking ahead of the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton this weekend, Mr Clegg also defended his party’s decision to enter into a coalition government with the Tories and said he hopes to rebuild voter trust.

The Lib Dem leader signs off by saying: ‘We were right to leave the comfort of opposition to face the realities of government.

‘And I know we are fighting for the right things, day in, day out, too: Rebuilding our economy to make it strong, changing the tax system to make it fair, defending the vulnerable in these tough times.’That’s what my party believes in. That’s what I believe in. And, if we’ve lost your trust, that’s how I hope we can start to win it back.’